Thursday, November 22, 2007

Genesis

I have a 12 inch cast iron skillet. My Mother-in-law gave it to me because she was not using it. It is my favorite tool in the kitchen. It is heavy, black, grimy, and greasy. It is not pretty. But I love cooking with it. I use it for everything: spaghetti, bacon, chicken, pancakes, hamburger. It is naturally non-stick and heats evenly. I love my skillet.

You can't put it in the dishwasher. I run it under hot water and scrub it out with a brush. To dry it, I put it on the stove with a burner turned on low. Every once in a while I rub some oil on it to keep it seasoned. I love my skillet.

But there's a problem. Sometimes, I forget that the fire is on underneath the skillet. I put it on the stove to dry and then I get distracted. I will find it later when I smell the faint tinge of hot iron. I decided a while back that I would only dry the skillet using the lowest setting on the stove. It takes longer but it doesn't seem to get hot enough to set the skillet on fire.